California mammals

American Shrewmole in California

Neurotrichus gibbsii

Native to California SNR Unranked in California

Not listed as nonindigenous in California by USGS NAS; native to its California range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

American Shrewmole in California, by the numbers

Common in California 59th most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

1,486 occurrence records
1,016 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

1,486 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,481 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the American Shrewmole in California

Most sightings fall in March to August.

1,481 California occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly California records (table)
MonthRecords
January66
February100
March160
April211
May207
June162
July150
August135
September115
October91
November41
December43

Monthly american shrewmole occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in March–August.

Occurrence map

Where American Shrewmole has been recorded in California

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Golden Gate National Recreation Area 154
Point Reyes National Seashore 91
Phillip Burton Wilderness Area 53
Redwood National Park 40
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park 16
Trinidad State Beach 14
Butano State Park 14
Burleigh H. Murray Ranch 13

Protected places with the most american shrewmole sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in California

CountyRecords
Marin County 411
Humboldt County 304
San Mateo County 184
Sonoma County 143
Santa Cruz County 117
Mendocino County 113
Santa Clara County 57
Trinity County 31
Siskiyou County 24
Shasta County 21
Tehama County 16
Napa County 12
10 other counties 53

The complete county distribution, spread across 22 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

American shrewmole reports follow California’s damp Pacific side, especially moist forest floor, brush, and meadow edges along the redwood belt and Coast Ranges. Point Reyes and Golden Gate offer accessible pieces of that setting, unlike the drier interior and the offshore Channel Islands.

Records climb from late winter to an April high, then gradually decline through summer and fall. Wet spring soil may make these tiny underground mammals easier to detect near the surface. Even so, many reports come from chance finds, so the seasonal curve reflects discovery and observer effort as well as activity.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

More mammals in California in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"